The Ultimate Fighting Championship's months-long hiatus is almost over; with MMA fans around the world counting down to the first Fight Night event of 2025.
The UFC is kicking off the new year with a pretty standard Apex card, but after weeks of no octagonal action, that doesn't really matter to fans; UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 takes place this weekend.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Amanda Ribas explains her nine-month absence from the UFC
Since her promotional debut in 2019, Amanda Ribas has built a reputation for being one of the most active female fighters on the roster.
But after three fights in 2023, the popular Brazilian strawweight would make just one appearance in 2024: dropping a hard-fought unanimous decision to former champion Rose Namajunas in March.
After a nine-month layoff, Ribas returns to action this weekend in a rematch against Mackenzie Dern and, speaking to MMA Junkie, explains why she had to ditch her regular schedule in favor of some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
“I'm a really emotional person, but I need – my team and I have spoken – to be more of a brain person. I took this time to restore my body with recovery and all, and to feel the miss to fight, to compete – I missed it [and] I really, really want to fight.”
Dern and Ribas were originally scheduled to fight in December at UFC Tampa, with the fight moved to January 18 and changed to a five-round bout; Fortunately, Ribas had already been training for five rounds anyway.
“I was training to do five rounds – I don't know why. My father trained me to do five rounds. I don't know if I should do it with more gas, but I had been training to do five since the start of camp.”
Ribas is currently ranked in both the Strawweight (#8) and Flyweight (#10) divisions and knows that victory this weekend “will bring me closer to my goal of becoming a champion.
“Of course everything depends on the result of this fight and how the fight goes, but I know the result can put me on top and maybe I can step towards the belt.”
Amanda Ribas is 'hungry for blood' ahead of the rematch against Mackenzie Dern
Ribas and Dern first faced off in October 2019; a fight won by Ribas via unanimous decision – this time she goes for the finish.
“I like fighting at strawweight, I feel strong, I feel confident and I'm hungry, you know, not just for food but for blood!”
After back-to-back losses to Amanda Lemos and Jessica Andrade, Dern got back in the win column with a solid decision victory over Lupita Godinez last August.
Dern may have momentum on her side, but Ribas is ready for whatever the American has in store: “I am prepared [her] takedowns, for the punches because I know she's getting better and stronger, [but] I trained a lot.
“I think if I can submit her, I will definitely get a bonus.”
Aside from the main event, there are a number of fights MMA fans should keep an eye on – Santiago Ponzinibbio takes on Carlston Harris in the evening's co-main event, with the main card also featuring UFC veterans Chris Curtis and Roman Kopylov .
There are also a few undefeated prospects to keep an eye out for; 13-0 featherweight Austin Bashi, 9-0 welterweight Jacobe Smith, 9-0 light heavyweight Magomed Gadzhiyasulov and 9-0 lightweight Nurullo Aliev.
With a healthy mix of promotional veterans and up-and-coming newcomers, UFC Fight Night: Dern vs Ribas 2 should be a fun way to kick off what should be another fantastic year of MMA action – on Saturday!
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